Kinds of fat.

[ReverseLunge]

Can anyone tell me what is the different between saturated and unsaturated fat and which one is good or bad for you?

[cornflower]

Can anyone tell me what is the different between saturated and unsaturated fat and which one is good or bad for you?

I learned about that crap in Biology this year... I had a GREAT Bio. teacher... the bEST in the entire school, btu I forgot all about fats... sorry.

[electricepeeist]

I vaguely, vaguely remember...

unsaturated fats are liquid at room temperature (things like cooking oil, I think)
saturated fats are solid (butter)

I think that there's a difference in how they dissolve or something of the sort, and I'm not sure quite where unsaturated fats place on the scale of good-bad, but I know saturated fats aren't too good.

[Maeve_Mari]

Has to do with the multiple-nature of the fat, here's some info:

"Good" fats
Nuts
Seeds
Avocados
Fish oils
Flaxseed oil; flax meal
Olive oil
Organic, free-range meats
Fresh butter (in moderation

"Bad" fats
Margarine
Fried Foods
Partially Hydrogenated Fats
Refined Vegetable Oils
Saturated Fats, in excess
Polyunsaturated Fats

Good fats are the naturally-occurring, traditional fats that haven't been damaged by high heat, refining, processing or other man-made tampering such as 'partial hydrogenation'. The best of these kinds of fats are found in fish, nuts, avocados, seeds and, believe it or not, fresh creamery butter.

Certain essential fats such as omega-3s (found in oily fish) and the occasional omega-6 (found in evening primrose oil) have been used to treat everything from bipolar depression to skin problems. Some can even benefit us in weight-loss programs. The terms 'omega-3' and 'omega-6' are technical terms having to do with the last occurrence of a carbon double bond in the fatty acid chain ('omega' means 'last'). In general, when you see things like 'omega-3' on the label, it's a good sign.

Fats are often described as being saturated, monounsaturated or polyunsaturated. Each has different properties. In general, the monounsaturates (such as olive oil) are good for you, but again, processing and high heat can reverse their healthy benefits. You definitely need some saturated fats, but probably not more than 10 percent of your diet and, again, stay away from high heat if possible. Polyunsaturates (especially in the form of refined vegetable oils) can do a lot of mischief as a rule, yet the all-important omega-3s are technically a subgroup of the polys, so it can be confusing.

http://www.ivillage.co.uk/dietandfit...157990,00.html

[Maeve_Mari]

Of course if that is too complicated -
Fats, Bad, Veggies, Good.

[gojujay]

Of course if that is too complicated -
Fats, Bad, Veggies, Good.

Read an article in Discover about the Inuit diet. Very low on veggies, high in animal products. Results are surprisingly low bad cholesterol and that sort of thing. To be fair these are WILD animals and the WHOLE animal is consumed.

[keith]

number of double bonds between the carbon atoms in the backbone;


(look it up in a biochem text book)

as pointed out the number of double bonds affect melting temperature - more double bonds higher melting temp. This is in part a function of molecular packing: double bonds introduce kinks in the backbone versus the saturated form.

[Inquartata]

And then there are trans fats...possibly the worst of the lot.

http://www.healthehabits.com/welcome/transfat.htm

[keith]

Inq, while there are many reasons to avoid the products listed in that link it is at best misleading. Hydrogenated fats are randomly structured but there is nothing 'unnatural' about trans vs cis forms of fatty acids per se. The discussion of membrane dynamics is interesting to say the least.

[esskreemr]

Can anyone tell me what is the different between saturated and unsaturated fat and which one is good or bad for you?

• Saturated Fat tends to increase blood cholesterol levels. Most saturated fats tend to be solid at room temperature, with the exception of tropical oils. It is found mostly in meat and dairy products, as well as some vegetable oils, such as coconut and palm oils (tropical oils). Butter is high in saturated fat, while margarine tends to have more unsaturated fat.
• Polyunsaturated Fat tends to lower blood cholesterol levels. It is found mostly in plant sources. (safflower, sunflower, soybean, corn, cottonseed).
• Monounsaturated Fat tends to lower LDL cholesterol (the "bad" cholesterol). It is found in both plant and animal products, such as olive oil, canola oil, peanut oil, and in some plant foods such as avocado.

[esskreemr]

Quick nutritional note:
1 gram fat = 9 calories
1 gram protein = 4 calories
1 gram carbohydrate = 4 calories

In addition, converting excess calories to fat storage "costs" more for carbohydrates:
carbs to fat storage = 23% of excess calories
fats to fat storage = 3% of excess calories
protein to fat storage = ??

So there are about 3,500 calories (k/cals) in a pound of fat.
That would take 4305 calories of carbs to create but only 3605 calories of fat.

[Maeve_Mari]

Read an article in Discover about the Inuit diet. Very low on veggies, high in animal products. Results are surprisingly low bad cholesterol and that sort of thing. To be fair these are WILD animals and the WHOLE animal is consumed.

I tell you what. If I had to diet and my only choices was eating whole, wild animals - and all of them at that, or eating nothing at all, then I would most certainly see my total consumption in general decrease!

[Prometheus]

Am I the only one who thought it was going to be a question about white fat vs. brown fat?

Yeah I thought so...

Oh well.